WEST PALM BEACH, Fla. — A dynamic luncheon aims to celebrate the students at Dreyfoos School of the Arts, while also benefiting some of the programs that enrich their education.
The Dreyfoos School of the Arts Foundation supports academic and arts programs.
There is a luncheon at the Kravis Center’s Cohen Pavilion to fund the Foundation on Thursday, Feb. 24, at 11:30 p.m. The event will include a lavish silent auction, three-course lunch from The Breakers Catering, and student performances. WPTV NewsChannel 5 anchor Ashleigh Walters will serve as host of the event.
Students who have benefitted from the programs say, they’ve made a significant difference in their high school education and preparation for college.
Senior Miles Wang is head of his school’s debate team, and captain of the USA debate team at international competitions. Wang is the senior class representative in student government and managing editor of the school news magazine. He recently learned he’s been nominated as a candidate for the US Presidential Scholars Program.
“I think having an arts education in the manner that the Foundation is able to provide is really integral to anything I want to do, or basically anything any student wants to do. Because basically even if we choose not to pursue our particular art areas, it’s still important to build our critical creative thinking skills and the creative, critical thinking faculties you’re able to get with this sort of education,” Wang said.
Major at Dreyfoos has its related costs. Wang has appreciated help with travel expenses provided by the Foundation. Every
“I don’t necessarily know what career I want to go to yet, it could be in economics, politics, AI even or business, I do know that the skills that I’ve learned here will help me in any path that I choose to pursue. So the ability to communicate with other people in a free and a direct manner, to have that honest and open communication,” Wang said.
Wang is involved in several philanthropic efforts, including serving as a leader for the nonprofit Project Dialogue and Debate, which raised more $15,000 this year for charity through public speaking workshops. He also serves at-risk teens as a student attorney in Palm Beach County Youth Court.
Clarissa Benjamin is also a senior at Dreyfoos. She’s been attending art school her entire life, after picking up the viola in the 3rd grade at Title 1 school Plumosa School of the Arts. She continued her musical study through Bak Middle School, then at Dreyfoos.
“Also, fun fact, the viola is more like the range of the human voice so it’s more pleasing to listen to, other than the violins, which I personally think are very squeaky,” she said.
Benjamin wants to continue her music education while pursuing a pre-med education. She is applying to the nation’s top schools.
“Definitely being a Dreyfoos student has shaped me for the better, I’d say, just because everyone here is striving to do their best. Which makes you also want to do your best and the best person that you can be,” she said.
Benjamin says she’s taken advantage of the programs funded by the Foundation.
“We have a lot of resources at Dreyfoos such as the Foundation paying for SAT boot camp, which really helps bring up my SAT score with the Revolution Prep program. And also, Saturdays, the first few months of school, they had a college boot camp and from 9 to 12, we’d wake up super early on a Saturday morning, we would come and write essays. There were people here to help write your essays, the guidance counselors were all here to help with questions,” she explained.
Tickets to the fundraiser can be purchased here.
